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We’ve challenged your children to become global citizens without leaving Lake County by grabbing a Passport to Flavor and taking our Global Dine Around Challenge for Kids. Find all the whole series:
- Passport to Flavor: Cuba
- Passport to Flavor: Italy
- Passport to Flavor: France
- Passport to Flavor: Japan
- Passport to Flavor: The Middle East
- Passport to Flavor: South Korea
- Passport to Flavor: India and Nepal
Today we are heading to the Middle East.

Middle Eastern Dining in Lake County
Try Papa Marcos Grill and Kabob, 622 Grand Ave. in Waukegan. Grilled meats, pita bread, hummus, and stuffed grape leaves are some of the typical dishes you will find in Middle Eastern cuisine. I’ve been on a mission to find decent falafel in our neck of the woods since 2005 and Papa Marcos comes highly recommended by those in the know.

Take the Challenge:
Resist the urge to stay safe with the American menu items and introduce your children to falafel, a deep-fried fritter made from ground chickpeas, typical street food in the Middle East. Kids can enjoy them in a pita sandwich or just with their fingers dipped in tahini sauce (tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds.)
Recommended Reading about the Middle East:

From Far Away
by Robert Munsch
{from Amazon} Based on a true story, Saoussan and her family flee a war-torn Lebanon, where bombs and gunshots were part of daily life. Now safe in her new country, Saoussan starts school. But not knowing any English made the simplest things difficult: to go to the washroom, Saoussan would crawl to the door when the teacher’s head was turned and wait until someone opened it. Saoussan must adapt to a new culture in a much safer world.
Before you go print out this coloring sheet to take with you and your children can learn about the Middle East while they wait for their food!

By Loralie
Hainesville
When Loralie isn’t out exploring with her two pint-sized adventurers you’ll often find her in front of her computer plotting to take over the world (or at least Lake County.) She appreciates good friends, good food, expensive shoes and parents who make two lanes in the drop-off/pick-up line at school. Her spirit animal is The Hobbit. She invites you to join her on her quest for unique distractions, diversions and deliciousness in this county we call home.
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